Denver firefighters had to carry air bottles and other heavy equipment from the 10th to the 25th floor after elevators apparently malfunctioned during a high-rise fire in the tony Cheesman Park neighborhood.

One firefighter was hospitalized for heatstroke, but there were no injuries in the blaze, which destroyed one condominium and damaged a second on the 25th floor of 2000 E. 12th Ave.

The fire is under investigation, but it doesn’t appear to have been arson, said Denver fire spokesman Lt. Phil Champagne.

The Fire Department last inspected the 26-story building Oct. 7 and found no violations, according to department records.

Firefighters generally use the stairs during their initial attack on a fire rather than risk being trapped if the elevator fails, Champagne said. But in high-rise buildings, they rely on elevators to bring additional equipment to crew members who are battling the blaze.

One of two elevators wouldn’t return to the first floor when a firefighter used a key that should have activated it, Champagne said.

The second elevator responded to the key, and firefighters loaded it with equipment. On the trip up, the lift wasn’t operating properly, and they abandoned it on the 10th floor.

The 2000 Cheesman East high-rise was built in 1976.

Regulations were later put into Denver’s fire code that require elevators to automatically return to the ground floor during a fire, said Division Chief Joseph Gonzales.

The updated fire code required building owners to retrofit elevators with the automatic return mechanism within three years, Champagne said.

The requirement was subsequently removed from the code when the city of Denver turned elevator inspections over to the state.

“We are now confronted with trying to deal with buildings like this throughout the city,” Champagne said.

The Fire Department has been trying to get the regulation put back into the code, he said.

Unlike newer buildings, the high-rise is not required to have sprinklers in individual apartments. There are sprinklers in the corridors, Champagne said.

Residents also complained that the fire alarm didn’t work, Champagne said. Questions about the alarm and elevators will be addressed in the inspection. Penalties could be levied against the condo association if infractions are found.

Few of the residents were home when the fire started. The Fire Department received the call for service at 11:11 a.m.

Joseph Paine, owner of the burned condo, said he left home about 8:20 a.m. for a doctor’s appointment and returned three hours later to find the fire.

Paine, 84, a semi-retired oil and gas man who has owned the condo since 2006, said he was concerned about losing personal property in the blaze.

“It was my home. It is a very comfortable home,” he said — “or, it was.”

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